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Russia's independent TV sees its troubles deepen

The Associated Press

Updated:
02/03/2014 03:10:00 PM EST

MOSCOW—Russia's biggest satellite provider has ditched the nation's top independent television channel amid a controversy over a poll it conducted that offended some in Russia, including the government.

The owner of Dozhd TV station, Alexander Vinokurov, said on Twitter that Tricolor TV's decision to cut the channel from its packages means its "effective closure."

Tricolor TV's decision Monday follows similar moves by other leading cable and satellite providers, which Dozhd's director Nataliya Sindeyeva has attributed to Kremlin pressure.

The poll by Dozhd, which broadcasts on the Internet, cable and satellite channels, asked if the Soviets should have surrendered Leningrad to the Nazis to avoid the more than 1 million deaths that followed. The station apologized, but the Kremlin said it crossed a moral "red line" and prosecutors opened an inquiry.